I just finished this book this evening, and I enjoyed it very much. This is the third book in Linden's Bath series about three brothers who learn that they may be illegitimate. It seems their father, the Duke of Durham, married an actress when he was young; the Duke and his wife parted after figuring out that they weren't as compatible as they thought they were, but they never divorced nor had the marriage annulled. So the question through the books has been whether the wife died before the Duke's second marriage.

This particular book centered on Charlie, the eldest brother. Linden did a good job of making each book stand alone in the sense that you don't really get a picture of each brother unless you read his book. Charlie comes off in Book I as a wastrel (which he was), but by the beginning of Book III you have a sense that he is not quite as he appears. And indeed he is not--he does take up the challenge of salvaging his own title by discovering the fate of his father's first wife as well as the identity of the person who is blackmailing the family.

He also finds love, needless to say. I liked all of the brothers' brides, and in each book, the brother gets to be a hero in a very personal way to the ladies by extending to them the kinds of courtesies that any person whose experience of the world has led them to devalue themselves would respond to. These brothers are just kind people at heart, despite how they hide it from themselves (particularly Charlie). Charlie sort of reminded me of the main character in Legion's Ladies by Judith Lansdowne.

At any rate, they were a pleasant diversion, and I am looking forward to catching up with Linden's other books.

I agree with your review of The Way To a Duke's Heart. The Truth About the Duke series is my 1st by Linden and I really enjoyed all 3 books. I thought the resolution to the inheritance problem was satisfying and logical. I was a bit taken by surprise by the reason for the blackmail since I missed the clues on that one! I liked Charlie and Tessa very much and believed in their love; they were well-matched. I, too, will be checking out more of Linden's work._________________So many books; so little time!
www.shelfari.com/tinabelle

Caroline Linden is a relatively new find for me too and though I still have some books from her backlist left in my TBR pile, I haven't read any of her books yet that I didn't really enjoy. I love finding an author new to me and at the same time the plus of hearing other readers enjoying that author too. Thanks for this post.

Caroline Linden is a relatively new find for me too and though I still have some books from her backlist left in my TBR pile, I haven't read any of her books yet that I didn't really enjoy. I love finding an author new to me and at the same time the plus of hearing other readers enjoying that author too. Thanks for this post.

I would like to check out her backlist, too. What titles would you recommend?_________________So many books; so little time!
www.shelfari.com/tinabelle

I would like to check out her backlist, too. What titles would you recommend?

I'd start with the series before the one we just read--The Bow Street Agents: Spies in LoveA View to a Kiss, book 1 (2009) was very well liked, so I'd start here.
For Your Arms Only, book 2 (2009)
You Only Love Once, book 3 (2010) was not as well received by some.

Her first trilogy was--The Reece Family Trilogy-- but I've only read the third book so far which I liked as my first CL book (before I realized it was part of a series).
What a Gentleman Wants, book 1 (2006)
What a Rogue Desires, book 2 (2007)
A Rake's Guide to Seduction, book 3 (2008)

She has a single title I haven't read yet, What a Woman Needs (2005),
a prequel novella to the Duke series, I Love the Earl (2011), and
a short story Like None Other (2011) available on Kindle but was first pubbed in the Mammoth Book of Regency Romance.

So you can see I've been reading her latest to her earliest mostly. Hope this is helpful and isn't more than you wanted.

I would like to check out her backlist, too. What titles would you recommend?

I'd start with the series before the one we just read--The Bow Street Agents: Spies in LoveA View to a Kiss, book 1 (2009) was very well liked, so I'd start here.
For Your Arms Only, book 2 (2009)
You Only Love Once, book 3 (2010) was not as well received by some.

Her first trilogy was--The Reece Family Trilogy-- but I've only read the third book so far which I liked as my first CL book (before I realized it was part of a series).
What a Gentleman Wants, book 1 (2006)
What a Rogue Desires, book 2 (2007)
A Rake's Guide to Seduction, book 3 (2008)

She has a single title I haven't read yet, What a Woman Needs (2005),
a prequel novella to the Duke series, I Love the Earl (2011), and
a short story Like None Other (2011) available on Kindle but was first pubbed in the Mammoth Book of Regency Romance.

So you can see I've been reading her latest to her earliest mostly. Hope this is helpful and isn't more than you wanted.

I've been waiting for this last book, and wasn't disappointed. I especially appreciated that the H/h didn't keep important information from each other once they became close.

I also enjoyed the country setting which allowed the development of the relationship to proceed a bit faster because the H/h were quite naturally thrown into each other's company. I thought Charlie and Tessa were admirably suited.

Also with some discussion going on in other threads about "seriesitis", I liked that the three books in this triology, while connected, are easy stand alone reads.

As a side note, I enjoyed how the author gave us a realistic look at travel on really bad roads. I get so annoyed about how super fast folk get from point A to point B in some historicals._________________When in doubt, read.